I always breathe a sigh of relief when a new project is announced by Aardman Animation. The studio behind some of the most inventive stop-motion projects of the past 50 years has never been as big a name or box office draw as Walt Disney Animation, but founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton’s quirky claymation company is just as important to the art, so you can imagine how loudly I screamed “Cheeeeeeee!” when Netflix announced a new appearance for Aardman’s unofficial mascots Wallace and Gromit.
Expected to be released “this winter” (although Netflix’s press release states a 2025 release). Wallace & Gromit – The Wild Revenge
Introduced in the Oscar-winning short film of 1993 The wrong pants — one of the best chase movies of all time? — Feathers is a mute criminal mastermind who dresses as a chicken and wears a red rubber glove for a hat. He has made cameo appearances in other Wallace & Gromit shorts, the pair’s only feature film, that are hard to miss. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
While Aardman’s distinctly British production struggled to reach American audiences – films like The Pirates! A band of outsiders, Shaun the SheepAnd Early man were hits around the world and flops in the States – the streaming era was good for the studio. In addition to producing last year’s sequel to Chicken race
A new Wallace & Gromit short on Netflix is a no-brainer and a sign of respect: if Wes Anderson could do it, Aardman obviously can too.
Wallace & Gromit – The Wild Revenge Long-time Aardman creative Nick Park is once again directing, with actor Ben Whitehead returning as the voice of Wallace after taking over the voice of Peter Sallis in 2008. The Curse of the Giant RabbitThe short film is planned for this winter and is therefore an ideal preparation for the Oscar season.